CABUSLAY V. PEOPLE G.R. NO.

129875

September 30,2005

FACTS:
Paquito Umas-as earned a living as a collector of payments for assorted articles
that he sold on credit. One fateful morning, he was halted by a police upon reaching
a checkpoint. The police asked him to show his ID. When he took out his ID from
his left pocket and when it reached the front man, one of the policemen, who was
identified as the petitioner, opened fire at the collector whose right hand was then
raised. Petitioner, who was four meters away from the collector, consumed

the entire magazine of his M-16 armalite in firing at him. The collector fell to
the ground and was still moving when the police placed him on board a
vehicle and brought him to Kolambugan for medical attention. Petitioner
interposed self-defense and acting in the lawful performance of his duty as
he claimed that the victim fired first at Regencia, the police who was asking
for the ID at the checkpoint.

ISSUE: Whether self-defense and lawful performance of duty under the

circumstances exempts one from criminal liability.
HELD:
No. The 8 gunshot wounds suffered by Paquito negate any claim of selfdefense. Had petitioner merely defended himself from the victims unlawful
aggression, one shot to immobilize him would have been enough. The nature
and number of wounds inflicted by the accused are important indicia which
disprove a plea for self-defense or defense of stranger because they

demonstrate a determined effort to kill the victim and not just defend
oneself.
That the killing of Paquito resulted from the lawful performance of duty as a
police officer is of no defense where the victim was not committing any
offense at the time. Cabuslay has not sufficiently proven that the victim had
indeed fired at Regencia where the alleged gun used by the victim was not
even presented in evidence. Killing the victim under the circumstances of
this case cannot be considered a valid performance of a lawful duty by a
man who had sworn to maintain peace and order and to protect the lives of
the people.